Giants’ sack masters present problem

Thursday

Nov 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMNov 29, 2007 at 8:53 AM

The Chicago Bears offensive line is banged up and aging. Now, the New York Giants come to town leading the NFL in sacks (38). Problem? The Bears hope not. They know what they're about to face, and aren't afraid to look them in the eyes.

Reed Schreck

The Chicago Bears offensive line is banged up and aging.

Now, the New York Giants come to town leading the NFL in sacks (38).

Problem?

The Bears hope not. They know what they're about to face, and aren't afraid to look them in the eyes.

Tight end John Gilmore said he keeps getting asked if his position has to do anything differently in Sunday's 3:15 p.m. game at Soldier Field. He wonders why.

"To do anything different is to tell us to do something we're not capable of doing," he said. "We go out there every week and do what the coaches tell us to do. We're not going to do something different -- just play our game, do our film study and go to work."

The receivers aren't going to adjust their routes or routines, either.

"You trust that the offensive line and running backs will be able to pick up the protection and do their job," said wideout Rashied Davis. "We have to go out and catch the ball."

Quarterback Rex Grossman plans to keep throwing the ball, saying he has "confidence in our tackles and our offensive line to do their job, and we should be able to get after them."

The only thing Grossman said he has to do differently is "do a better job of keeping two hands on the ball, and protecting the ball when I'm in the pocket, and just let the game play out how it plays out."

"You've got to be aware of Strahan every play, but it's tough because they have two really good guys inside, too," Turner said. "You can't give the ends too much attention or someone else will burn you."

Bears backup tackle John St. Clair has gone against Strahan over the years. He said he treats him like any other player.

"He's a good player. I've blocked him, I'll say that much," he said. "I don't want to get into all of that. I just go out and play.

"I can say he's a great player. You look at what he's done this year and in the past, that says enough in itself. He's quick and strong with long arms; he knows how to find guy's weaknesses. I'm up for the challenge."

St. Clair might be needed more than usual Sunday with Fred Miller (ankle) hobbled. Guard Ruben Brown already is out for the year.

The Bears defensive line says, hey, don't forget about us, as Chicago has 32 sacks. End Adewale Ogunleye is on a nice roll himself, with six sacks in the past four games along with a forced fumble three straight weeks.

"Defensively, especially the defensive line, we have to match their defensive line's intensity," said Ogunleye, who leads Chicago with 9.0 sacks while Tommie Harris has 7.0. "I think they've got a really good defensive line, and I'm close to a lot of guys on that team and defense. So pride will be at the forefront in the game."

Strahan agrees.

"There’s a lot of pride involved in that because you want to be the best in the league," he said. "It's a good thing; it's not all we try to hang our hats on. We want to be the best all-around. I think we play the run well, the pass well, and that's what we take pride in, being more of an all-around defensive line."

Chicago defensive tackle Darwin Walker, who spent the previous seven seasons with Philadelphia and thus faced the Giants many times, knows the importance of sacks.

"They're huge, and change a lot of games and situations," he said. "But we've got to play the run as well, and this week is big to get them in situations where they have to throw the ball."

"When you start out with two Pro Bowlers (Strahan and Umenyiora), that’s a good start. And they play hard and they have been good for a while, so it’s going to be a good challenge for our offensive line -- not just our offensive line but our team in general.

"At the same time, we like our defensive line, too, so we’ll get some good competition to see who has the best defensive line that day."

Reed Schreck is the NFL writer for the Rockford Register Star. Contact him at 815-987-1381 or rschreck@rrstar.com.